Sunday, November 3, 2013

November 2, 2013: CANstruction 2013 in New York

Date: November 2, 2013 (though this goes through 11/13)Event: CANstruction 2013 in New YorkLocation: Lower Manhattan, New York CitySummary: It's art! Made of food! Then donated to charity!

Tis the season of some of my favorite events. October 31 and the Halloween Parade is quickly followed by a myriad of other New York events that mark the end of the year and the Holidays. And many of those events are charity benefits of one kind or another. This is one of those: it’s called CANstruction

I first discovered CANstruction back in 2008 and have attended the event every year since then. What is CANstruction you ask? Well, their website states, “Canstruction, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that holds annual design and build competitions to construct fantastic, giant sized, structures made entirely out of canned food. In each city after the structures are built and the winners declared the creations go on view to the general public as giant art exhibits. At the close of the competition all of the Cansculptures are dismantled food used in the structures is donated to the local food banks for distribution to community emergency feeding programs.”

This year wasn’t the biggest exhibit they’ve had, but I must say I truly enjoyed the sculptures. Every year so inventive and imaginative and impressive. I love the creativity and appreciate the engineering.

In encourage everyone that can to look it up in their city – this isn’t confined to New York. Go. Enjoy. Take some canned goods to donate. A morning well spent. :) (remember, it's open through Nov 13 in New York!

Below are pictures of my favorites of the 27 sculptures they had.

Title: Bella Notte Per Finire La Fame (aka Lady and the Tramp)

By: Arup

Cans: 2726

HOW CUTE IS THIS?!

Favorite detail: They are actually eating pasta…on a plate made of tuna…on a table of tomato sauce.

Title: We CAN Kill Hunger

By: STUDIOS Architecture

Cans: 9300

This is just plan stunning. I mean…it’s anchovies. A skull of anchovies!! And a convincing (and spooky/creep) one at that!

Favorite detail: Pretty much all of it

Title: Hunger Never Sleeps

By: Eleanor Roosevelt High School

Cans: 4260

I’m always a sucker for New York ones. This piece was two sided; one side had a nighttime skyline view of New York, the other side had a day time view of New York.

Favorite Detail: Dawn and dusk in New York (you know, the times between night and day) is apparently comprised of Goya black beans, organic pumpkin, and Trader Joe’s corn. Who knew? ;)

Title: Despicable Hunger: Minions CanRise!

By: Perkins Eastman / Harlem RBI

Cans: 5254

MINIONS!!!!!!!!

Favorite Detail: the eyes, man, the eyes! Such incredible creativity! Pistachio packages making the black outline for the eyes and bags of marshmallows making the whites, and an unknown jar of something with a black top making the iris. I want to be a shopper for these teams some year. How fun to go out seeking food based on color and shape alone.

Title: Once Upon A Can

By: Thorton Tomasetti

Cans: 3870

This pretty much blew me away. A castle. A castle of cans. A CANstle if you will (see what I did there?).

Favorite detail 1: Can we take a moment to appreciate the curved storybook-looking base that also doubles as the green grass around the castle?

Favorite detail 2: And can we take a moment to appreciate the DRAW BRIDGE made of imported herring??

Favorite detail 3: And can we take a moment to appreciate the windows made of blue anchovies?

Favorite detail 4: And can we take a moment to appreciate the delicately balanced yellow anchovy flags flying at the top of each turret (not to mention the existence of turrets)?

Title: Fight Hunger "Piece"meal

By: American Express

Cans: 5612

Tetris!

Favorite detail: the colors. Again, how much fun would it be to scour a grocery store(s) for different colored cans?

Title: Polarized Against Hunger

By: CACE Consulting Engineers

Cans: 3003

Another one that just completely blew me away. I mean look at this igloo! It’s practically life size! And it comes with a life-sized penguin!

Favorite Detail 1: the Penguin had amazing details. The beak and the feet, of course, but the two little milky way eyes. So much respect for that attention to detail (also, so much better tasting than anchovies! ;) )

Favorite Detail 2: the inside of the igloo. As if the structure itself wasn’t enough. They had to go and build it around a fire. A FIRE!! INSIDE THE IGLOO. Amazing! Love the pasta logs, too. Love the reflection of the fire on the rear wall. Love it all.

Title: Pour Your Heart Out

By: Lesslie E. Robertson Associates

Cans: 3555

There is currently an exhibit in New York called “Art of the Brick” and its signature piece is a sculpture made of yellow legos in the form of…well in the form below. So, stay with me now, this is a sculpture out of anchovies of a sculpture made out of Legos. *mind blown*

Honorable Mentions:

This Lochness monster – very cool!

And LOL just the accidental placement of the security guard in front of the Bat-wings. :D